Filmmaker Statement

AS A WORKING-CLASS WRITER-DIRECTOR, I AM TIRED OF SEEING STORIES WHERE PEOPLE NEED TO ABANDON THEIR HOMES IN ORDER TO BE HAPPY. THIS FILM IS A LOVE LETTER TO ESTATE CHILDHOODS AND AN ODE TO FRIENDSHIP. IT IS DEEPLY PERSONAL AND HONEST, BUT ITS THEMES ARE UNIVERSAL AND SURE TO CAPTURE THE HEARTS OF AUDIENCES WORLDWIDE. ‘ROCKET FUEL’ IS LITTERED WITH IMAGINATION AND COLOUR TO PAY TRIBUTE TO ‘EUROPE'S YOUNGEST CITY’ AND ENFORCES BRADFORD 2025’S THEME OF ‘COMING OF AGE.’ WITH 26 PER CENT OF RESIDENTS UNDER THE AGE OF 18, ROCKET FUEL PORTRAYS OUR YOUNG PEOPLE AS AMBITIOUS, RESILIENT, INVENTIVE AND LOYAL TO THEIR ROOTS. ‘ROCKET FUEL’ PULLS NO PUNCHES WITH ITS AUTHENTIC DIALOGUE AND AIMS TO PROPEL MY WORK TO A WHOLE NEW COSMIC DIMENSION. BUT LIKE LENNY AND MULLET, I WILL NEVER ABANDON MY ROOTS AND I WILL ALWAYS BE AN ESTATE KID AT HEART.”